Occupations

Originally Posted By: Ken "Wirehead" Wronkiewicz and Marshall Motley ([email protected]) Copyright © Ken Wronkiewicz and Marshall Motley Downsizing and rapid job changes are going to effect culture. There are going to be a lot of unemployed people. There will always be jobs for those who are not proud. Jobs that are ill suited for robots to attend to will be available for poverty-level wages. Many jobs like Accountant, Secretary, Typist, Postal Clerk, and many other office jobs are replaced by computers. Receptionists only exist for sex appeal. Automation replaces most assembly line jobs, except when the cost of labor is less than machine cost. Also, rich people will rediscover old toys as they realize they can't keep up with new toys. Servants are a sign of status. They are also a method of relaxing. They will know that a machine could do their job better and cheaper. They also know that it is probably better than the alternative jobs. The master will have a person to look down upon. When you've got cash, servants can disappear if they try to protest. The winners are going to be the bright people. Think of a technological priestood. The people who can hack will end up with the money. Freelance hackers will be in an especially good position, because they are able to jump into new markets faster than any of the large companies. The mediocre programmers will be assured a job. Despite attempts by many, the ability to program is not inborn. They will build tiny pieces of huge projects like assembly line workers. However, they will not be in the upper class. A buzzword of the last few years is "Defense Conversion". Defense Conversion is the practice of taking military technologies and defense contractors and enabling them to try to dominate the civilian markets. However, it's not happening. The only thing that is preventing Defense contractors from converting to providing paramilitary gear is the Pentagon and the State Department. When the defense contractors start selling paramilitary gear, expect powerful private armies to follow. Here are some typical jobs: Hacker/Cracker Uses computers and special software like weasels and viruses to retrieve, change, or erase any stored data. They charge a fee, unless they are receiving a piece of the action. Teenager wanabees run rampant. Extremely glamorized.   Hacker/Wizard Uses computers to create new innovative software. This brand of hackers is not too glamorized. A freelance hacker in his/her garage will be able to conquer new markets much faster than the larger corporations can.   Scientist Any scientific skill from gene splicing, chip design, programming, robotics, hardware, bionics, and more are welcome and needed. They are treated like resident gods by the company, the brighter, the more valuable. Most have their start in the corporate world and are occasionally liberated by extraction specialists.   Medical This ranges from nurse to surgeon to genetic engineer. This is a big money maker. Surgeons and nurses are always needed to rebuild people who have been blown apart, but only if they have the money. Genetic Engineers take lots of training. Most only specialize into genetic research in order to ignore the medical associations, if they still exist. Wherever a genetic engineer is, somebody acts as a middleman.   Runner A runner is a courier who is paid to carry some object from one place to another. They specialize in avoiding detection, escaping pursuit, with the necessary skills to do so. Most of them are proficient at a hacking, piloting, booby-traps, and concealment. All are experts at combat.   Data Runner A courier who transports valuable data. Depending on the level of cybertechnology, they either have a brain chip or just a pack of disks. Only they know the encryption key, and sometimes even they don't know the key. They are sworn to die rather than give up the information, because even death is correctable if they follow their oath.   Extraction Specialist See Count Zero for an example of this. Paid by one company to kidnap / liberate a scientist bearing knowledge of value, probably having skills needed by the buyer. Many cases involve kidnapping and slavery, so characters will be extreme.   Bodyguard Usually well armed and armored big guys who are paid to steer their client away from trouble and catch all the bullets. Defensive techniques and surrounding awareness are often their tools. A good type of person to become covered with cybertechnology or mutated with genetic engineering. Keep in mind that they also have to be intelligent, not just big brutes.   Hit Squad Put on search and destroy missions regarding terrorist attacks against the company they serve. Sometimes kidnapping and interception are their goals. All members share their skills, though they are usually hired separately. If a group is hired together, they are known as Mercs. With hit squads, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.   Ninja / Xerosoldier Secretive, highly trained, and biologically or mechanically upgraded contract owned assassins / terrorists. Works only for the country who owns them and owes undying loyalty to them. Often, small men or women with a slight or pudgy build are used because they look harmless and kill rapidly. Skills always include martial arts, awareness, weapons, sabotage, and tactical defense.   Hustler / Broker People who have connections and use them to deal any information, services, or hardware to another. Hustlers have a extremely short life expectancy; hustling is a extremely risky business. Hustlers who specialize in weaponry are called fixers. Awareness, street lingo, appraisal, bargaining, and library research are just some of the required skills. They deal in drugs, software, hardware, weaponry, or information. Some are reporters who find and sell stories to major and minor media, like P.I.'s   Bonded Corp / Sarariman Lifetime contract member of a corporation; a little guy who does a certain job at an arcology. His kids and wife belong and can't leave the arcology. His family serves as a leash to reign him in.   Clones Genetic duplicates of certain people. Usually registered as either a sibling or an unconscious braindead organ donor. Clones are often acquired later in a donor's life, so an age differential exists. Abilities are what genetically was added in and how the clone was trained.   AIs Artificial Intelligence programs are a hot commodity. Brain power ranges from small dog to super genius, according to the power of their mainframe. Often times, they are inclined to kill their parents, either through brute force, subterfuge, or zapping them while they are working on the AI. They tend to leave little bobby traps lying around the net. They often guard valuable information. If they start trying to figure out how to improve their intelligence or transcend their hardwired limitations, they are usually terminated.   Security Guards Dull people who are assigned to guard something. A few elite guards exist to guard valuable targets, but most are just cannon fodder.   Media Technicians People like Digital Video Editors, Voice Sources, Computer Animators, Cameramen, and the ilk. They are generally replaceable, but some of the elite are extremely valuable.   Data Technicians With the influx of data today, software tools have been developed to enable people to index and correlate them. However, until AI technology becomes accessible to everyone, technicians will be needed to manage the data retrieval software. Individual pieces of data are not incriminating, however, when they are collected and cooborated, they become useful.   Organleggers In a CyberPunk environment, nobody's going to care about donating their organs. The organ banks are going to have two ways to get organs for people with money: Dispose of murder evidence or pay freelance criminals to bring back organs. Hello Igor.   Dull Workers: like janitors, arcology workers, etc. You'll still need them.